


The Secret Prima

by DorkWingsRise



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Aged Up, Chloé the dancer, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28040424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkWingsRise/pseuds/DorkWingsRise
Summary: At long last, the Paris dance community will learn what Paris' best dancers have known for years.(A oneshot set in the same world as my "It All Started at the Green Fairy,"  but all you really need to know is that Chloe and Marinette are newlyweds and that Chloé is now on top of her demons)
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	The Secret Prima

Marinette sat back for a moment.The Sunday afternoon sun felt just right.She felt her breathing slow and the tension drain from her shoulders. _No, no, no!_ Her eyes popped open, and she raced to refill her mug of coffee. _Too much work!Too little time!_ Her eyes ghosted over her sketches and models.Jagged would like this, right?But there really wasn’t time to worry.She was in the last mile and would present to Jagged and Penny in 10 days. 

The real problem was that she had been working non-stop while Chloe was out doing Chloe-things.A little break for some serious kissing would recharge her batteries, but that would have to wait until her beautiful wife came home.Still—Marinette unbuttoned her top three buttons, shot a selfie, and sent it to Chloe: _Thinking of you, my love._ Almost instantly,Marinette received a text in return, a close up of Chloe’s mouth, the tip of her tongue just touching her upper lip: _I’ll be home as soon as I can.I love you!_

Marinette smiled.Everything was going to be alright.She sorted through her podcasts, looking for something to keep her focused while she worked on her model, finally settling on _Paris Dance with Nadja Chamack_.

—

“Good morning, Paris!This is _Paris Dance_ , and I’m Nadja Chamak.With us today are two of our brightest stars, Mimi Truffaut and Emse Belmondo.Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today!”

“Thank you for having us,” said Mimi.

“We love this podcast,” added Esme.

“I’m so glad that you could be here, especially given some rumors that we’ve heard this week.Mimi, there has been a buzz ever since _Isadora_ was announced, but now I have to ask, will you be able to dance?”

Mimi let out a little sigh.“I’m afraid the rumors are true.My doctors have been clear that dancing right now would put me at risk of permanent injury.I’ve been hard on my right foot, apparently.”She paused to brush a tear from her cheek.“Oh great, and now I’m crying.I’m not sure when I can dance again, but _Isadora_ will obviously not be possible for me.”

Esme said, “You will be back to your amazing self in no time.I’m sure of it!”

“I know that we all hope so,” said Nadja.“What is Paris ballet without Mimi Truffaut?”

Mimi snorted.“Please.Paris ballet will always be just fine.”She let out a small sight.“I don’t know.In some ways, a break is not all bad.I have time to focus on parts of my life that I’ve set aside.My attitude has always been that setbacks are really opportunities. That won’t change because of my foot.Onward!”

“So, what kind of opportunities do you see right now, Mimi?”

“Well—?”

Esme laughed.“It has to come out sometime, Mimi.It might as well be now.Nadja, Mimi and I have a wedding to plan.She proposed.Finally!”

“This is wonderful news! Congratulations to you both,” said Nadja.

“Thank you,” said Mimi.“Esme has cleared her schedule for the next six months.I feel so happy and so lucky.That must sound strange right now, but it is absolutely the truth.I can lose dance, but I don’t know how I’d go on without Esme.”

“Baby, I love you so much!”

“Ladies, I am thrilled for you and honored that you chose to break the happy news on this podcast!So, tell me, will _Isadora_ go forward?Guillaume Boucher’s column in the morning paper suggested that a replacement would be named soon?He didn’t seem overly fond of the suggestion or the dancer.”

“Guillaume Boucher—“ began Esme.

“Are you sure that you want to go there, Esme?” asked Mimi.

“I’ll tread gently,” replied Esme.“Guillaume Boucher writes a lot about Guillaume Boucher and a little about Dance.He is right about one thing.Chloe Bourgeois will make her debut in _Isadora_.Honestly, it seems strange to call it a debut.But he is wrong about everything else.”

“I think that we all know Chloe to be a patron of Dance, but I have to admit that it sounds like a stretch to have a patron of the art fill in for a prima.Especially in a very demanding ballet!”

“It absolutely will sound like a stretch to most people,” said Mimi, “but it sounds like a very natural thing to me.In fact, it is a relief.I know that _Isadora_ will be in good hands.”

“And Boucher would know that as well if he had bothered to talk to anyone,” said Esme.“His ignorances doesn’t make Chloe a — what did he call her — a wannabe?It is insulting.”

“Can you explain?” asked Nadja.

“There is a rite of passage for young dancers in Paris, especially the few in the top tier.At some point, you will be stuck.You may not even know that you are stuck at the time.But the dance will need more from you,” said Mimi.

“God,” said Esme through a laugh.

“And you will be sent to Eloise Berger’s studio for three days or a week.It seems a bit odd at the time.Perhaps you aren’t aware that Madame Berger teaches any more.But, of course, you are also aware that she was a giant in her time, so you go.”

“I remember vividly the first time that happened to me,” said Esme.“ _Manon_.”

Mimi dissolves into laughter.

“Your _Manon_ was astounding,” said Nadja.

“My _Manon_ was not so astounding in early rehearsals.I wasn’t expressive enough.”

“And you were, perhaps, a bit resistant to that suggestion at the time, my love,” said Mimi.

“Absolutely resistant.So they pack me off to Eloise Berger’s studio.Early in the morning.I can’t believe how early in the morning.Madame Berger had asked only that I study video of my performance before I attend.So I enter the studio, and there are two dancers already there, a sleepy-looking Marc Therriault who had just finished getting warm, and a blonde girl I’d never seen before who looked like she had been dancing quite a bit already that morning.”

“She had probably danced for at least an hour before you got there,” said Mimi.

“Unbelievable.So Madame Berger tells me to just watch.So, Marc is Marc.We all know what to expect from him.Glorious.But this blonde girl is a complete revelation. I mean, I’ve seen the best dancers in Paris.I’ve danced with them.I’ve had coffee with them.And I’m standing there feeling like a 17-year-old again, watching Mimi for the first time.I had thought that, perhaps, Madame Berger would find some small refinements, but after only a few seconds of the first _pad de deux,_ it occurs to me that I need to improve everything.It was a real kick in the pants.So they dance the three _pad de deux,_ and then Madame Berger turns to me and says, ‘Are you ready to work, my dear?’God.Anyway, that was my introduction to Chloe.”

“We’ve all been there,” said Mimi.

“And afterward, Chloe was so sweet to me.She told me how much she had enjoyed my _Giselle_ , and in the sort of detail that made it clear that she had watched it closely.So afterward, I race over to Mimi’s apartment.”

Mimi laughed out loud again,“I remember opening the door.The look on your face!”

“I didn’t even greet you properly.I just blurted out,‘have you ever heard of a dancer named Chloe?’And you laughed and laughed.”

“And then the look on your face when I told you it was the Mayor’s daughter!”

“I would have throttled you if I didn’t have such a huge crush on you!”

“So, wait, why haven’t we seen Chloe on stage?”

“I think,” said Mimi, “that is her story to tell, but dance is a machine.I think Chloe needed dance, but perhaps, the machine got in the way?I remember when Chloe stepped back.She wasn’t happy then.But when I think of her at 16, 17, 18?I think she found something.I’m not sure that would have happened for her without dance.Would it have happened if she was fighting for a place in the institution of dance?I’m less sure.But even if _Isadora_ is not your cup of tea, you should attend.This is a significant event in Paris ballet.”

“Ladies, thank you so much for sharing your time with us all this morning, and congratulations on your happy news!This has been Paris Dance, with me, Nadja Chamack.Thanks for listening!”

—-

Marinette smirked.“Chloe and her secrets.I wonder when she planned on telling me?”

“This afternoon, actually.”

Marinette whipped around to see Chloe leaning against the threshold of the workroom.“Do tell.”

Chloe laughed.“I was waiting for it to be a done deal.I didn’t sign the contract until this afternoon.Mimi and Esme jumped the gun a bit.”

“What was the hold-up?”

“I wasn’t going to sign anything until I talked to Larissa St. Germaine.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed.“Agent?”

“Understudy.She did all the right things and had every reason to expect she’d dance if Mimi was unable to.I wanted to be sure that she knew that I hadn’t signed anything yet and that I wouldn’t unless she was on board.”

“And she was.”

“We had a long lunch.Then I brought Larissa with me to ballet ground-zero, and I signed.”

Marinette crossed the room to Chloe.“I am so proud of you.And I’m so glad that Paris will finally get to see you dance.”

“I’m glad that I finally feel strong enough and free enough to perform.”

Marinette captured Chloe’s mouth in a searing kiss.“Feel strong enough and free enough to perform right now?”

Chloe twined her fingers in Marinette’s hair, pulling her head back, kissing her neck, and whispering in her ear, “I haven’t been able to fully concentrate on anything else since you sent me that selfie.”


End file.
